Early Edition with Kate Hawkesby

National's Deputy Leader Nicola Willis is defending the party warning of a second election. The party has ramped up efforts to keep New Zealand First out of the mix - warning there's a growing possibility National wouldn't be able to get a deal done. Willis told Kate Hawkesby there's always a risk they won't get enough support. She says a lot of people already believe there's going to be a change - but they have to vote. LISTEN ABOVE  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

As we reflect on the —let’s be frank— end of this government’s tenure, I can’t help thinking about all the stuff they dropped the ball on, that I wonder if they regret.   Mental health, the $1.9 billion none of us know where it is. Light rail. Child poverty. Kiwibuild, a tangible disaster. Not taking the country with them when they had a majority, an unheard of opportunity to take us with them, and they blew it.   The MIQ shenanigans, the shutting of the borders for so long, the crime levels, the co-governance, three waters, they had so much promise, and they just dropped the ball on it all. Too many consultants, too many reviews, too many ministers with scandals and issues that saw them off one by one, just too much chaos.   But I wonder if we only feel acutely about the stuff that affects us directly. I was in the car yesterday and heard a caller ring Kerre when she had Hipkins on. He had a question for the PM, who was sitting in his hotel room, doing the interview over Zoom. But this guy sounded really mad

Pay equity for care and support workers has been halted.  Te Whatu Ora's called for a review as the claim process nears the end, much to the disappointment of unions and employers.  Aged Care Association Chief Executive, Katherine Rich told Kate Hawkesby that she believes the health agency halted the process as the cost was more than anticipated.  She says they're calling foul as it impacts the most vulnerable and lowly-paid workers in the sector.  Te Whatu Ora says the review seeks further assurance on specific technical questions, and once answered they'll progress to the next stage.  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Queenstown's mayor is raising concerns over the country's water supply crackdown.  Water regulator Taumata Arowai has sent a letter to 27 councils lacking in a sufficient protozoa barrier, informing them they have till mid next year to get a plan in place.  Queenstown Mayor Glyn Lewers told Kate Hawkesby that when it comes to enforcement, the regulator has teeth, with fines and jail time both being a possibility.   He believes he's under-mining the industry they're trying to regulate.   He says rates will likely increase as councils compete for resources, which have largely been sucked out of the country thanks to Queenstown's cryptosporidium infection outbreak.  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A bumper summer is expected ahead of the cruise ship season.  A total of 54 ships will make 1,000 visits to New Zealand shores this season, expecting to bring around 350,000 passengers.  Kaikōura and Bluff both have forward bookings, and Lyttelton is back on the calendar following upgrades.  But Tourism Holding Limited CEO Grant Webster warns that infrastructure issues will eventually come into play.  He says we need a quality international cruise port, and we'll lose the cruise ships to Australia if we don't invest in that.  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

I’m rallying the troops at the moment to early vote.   By troops I mean family members, but also anyone who’ll listen. So far I think just my husband, my sister and I have early voted. Others are waiting til the last minute. I’m not sure what might happen last minute that could change your mind, short of a scandal of some kind I guess. But you either like the direction the country is going and want to keep it this way, or you don’t.   At the heart of it we’re essentially voting for change or more of the same. My concern is the short memories of Kiwis as I said the other day, and how many will try to justify pepper potting their vote around like some kind of MMP pick and mix. That’ll only end in tears, probably mine if Winston has anything to do with it.   I do worry about people’s understanding of how government works that they want to appoint a troublemaker to the mix and think that’ll elicit change for this country, It won’t. it’ll just elicit chaos. And surely we’ve had enough of that. But, democracy is de

Marlborough residents could be in for an expensive few years, with millions more needed for road repairs than first thought.   Fixing the flood damaged transport system is expected to cost $74 million more, totalling $234 million.  Marlborough District Council Chief Executive Mark Wheeler told Kate Hawkesby that their cost estimates were cautious but reflect the current reality.  He says construction cost, inflation, and contractor shortages have also added to the expense.  Wheeler says rates are expected to rise by 10%, assuming Waka Kotahi provides financial assistance.  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Reserve Bank is tipped to keep the Official Cash Rate unchanged at 5.5% when it comes up for review this afternoon.  Westpac's Kelly Eckhold told Kate Hawkesby that a change is unlikely so close to an election.  However, she said, the markets are looking at a 50-60% rate increase in November, earlier than the Reserve Bank had previously indicated.   LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A year of wet weather has taken its toll on some in the veggie industry.   New data from NIWA shows that in September, areas like Otago, Southland, Canterbury, Wairarapa, and Auckland received well above normal rainfall.  But last month was also the warmest September on record.   Leaderbrand Chief Executive, Richard Burke told Kate Hawkesby that recent rainfall has been difficult.   He says it's been the hardest 18 months they've seen from the growers right through to sales, with outages and a lack of product.  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

I come to you today with – fingers crossed – great news.   I say fingers crossed because let’s hope it lasts, I don’t want to be accused of speaking too soon, but I’m hearing reports that Auckland airport is on the improve. For starters, it’s opened an express lane. Very heartened by the headline yesterday which read, “Auckland Airport trials screening Express Lane to cut down unacceptable wait times”. I mean is that not music to all of our ears?   I was reading a text to you guys yesterday about the listener who had paid extra to fly home via Christchurch airport purely to avoid travelling through Auckland. We’ve been aghast at the number of messages, emails, texts and complaints from people saying how chaotic Auckland airport is. How long it takes, how shambolic it is, how disorganised... not enough staff, staff who don’t know what they’re doing, lack of communication, just general mayhem. And this has been going on for months. So if they’re onto sorting that already, fantastic.   Because don’t forget Greg

It was too good an opportunity to pass up.  Auckland Council has spent more than $12 million expanding its Botanical Gardens.   It's bought 1.6 hectares, the size of two soccer pitches, on Hill Road in Manurewa.   More than 10 million dollars of the purchase price will be funded by debt.  Manurewa-Papakura Ward Councillor, Daniel Newman, says he lobbied hard for the purchase.   He knows money's tight, but this was the only time they could buy this particular parcel of land.  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

There’s been a mixed response to Labour's pledge to do more to help new supermarket retailers set up shop in New Zealand.  While details are in the early stages, help with finances, gaining land space, and making regulator changes are on the cards.  New Zealand Initiative's Eric Crampton told Kate Hawkesby that changes to zoning for new supermarkets would be welcomed but warns against subsiding entry for new chains.  He says starting new retailers on subsidies could lead to chains asking for more handouts down the line to stay in the market.  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

I went out in search of some democracy yesterday, trying to early vote.   I looked up on the Vote NZ website where in my area had early voting places open and what time. I headed out on a walk confident I’d found the place but as I rocked up there, the lights were out; the first bad sign. Then I saw an actual sign on the ground, blown over in the wind, it said ‘no early voting here until October 9th’.   So back to the website I went, determined to find a place. Turns out it couldn’t have been easier, the local Westfield mall had a huge polling station open, lots of bright orange signage and as it turns out, lots of people looking to early vote. I guess I shouldn’t have been surprised, they say about two thirds of us early vote usually, and they’re expecting more this time round. I think they were saying they're expecting about 80% of Kiwis to early vote this time.   We stood in line behind a man in a suit who was talking to another man who’d not even registered to vote but wanted to. So he was in the special

I know I’ve said it before, but I’ll say it again, I’m so over this election. Please let it be over already.  Now that Winston’s crept back into the fray, we've got the old gameplaying of not just the politicians - but the voters now too who seem to believe they can rig MMP in their favour.  They want to design their own bespoke government. After all these years, we still don’t seem to get it. Essentially NZ voters are their own worst enemies.   Nearly two thirds of New Zealand voters think the country is heading in the wrong direction – but the smorgasbord of wasted votes plays to those who indulge themselves in delusions of grandeur that MMP provides them an ability to vote tactically.   They truly believe they can change the direction New Zealand is going with a sprinkling of some self serving bias - but it sadly doesn’t work like that.   Believing you can ‘send a message’, or ‘take out some insurance’ or ‘punish’ a party, is deluded.   To vote ‘tactically’ against a party you traditionally support or to c

The property market is experiencing some pre-election jitters.  It seems Kiwis are holding off on making big decisions until after D-Day - with the national average asking price staying flat the whole of September - this is according to realestate.co.nz's last report before the election.  Vanessa Taylor, head of sales at realestate.co.nz, joined Kate Hawkesby on Early Edition to discuss the report's findings. LISTEN ABOVE  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

National's Deputy leader says its economic plan is solid despite widespread doubts.   The party released its fiscal plan on Friday, Finance Minister Grant Robertson describing it as being built on sand.   A recent Newshub Reid Research poll found 53 percent of respondents don't think National can pay for their tax cuts.   The tax plan was also criticised by economists from across the political spectrum.   Despite the doubters Nicola Willis told Kate Hawkesby the plan has been carefully put together.  She says there are buffers in place in case parts of the plan go over or under expected cost.  LISTEN ABOVE  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Polls are great. I love ‘em and I love the occasional surprise we get from them.  They're really useful in providing those snapshots of public opinion at any given moment.  And you'll be aware the political parties use them extensively, not just to see how they're tracking but for all sorts of nefarious stuff like testing out our reactions to policy ideas.  On top of that there's also a lot of research into the way leading figures are perceived, all part of the process of moulding and shaping them for maximum ballot-box efficiency.  But the thing about polls that we rarely take much notice of, and should, is the sampling process.  It's vital, if you want accurate answers to your questions, to be scrupulous about the sampling process.  Let me explain.  Say you're doing a political poll; you want to be sure your respondents match the demographics of the population as a whole.  So, you end up having to interview so many men, so many women, and a set number of people in each age group to match the voting populati

Sanitarium has dropped Weet-Bix from the Warehouse stores, blaming supply issues.   The Warehouse Group is questioning why only its stores are affected and the Commerce Commission is looking into it.   Massey University marketing expert Bodo Lang told Tim Dower that it's unusual to target just one retailer.   He says it's something we don't see very often, and the way Sanitarium has handled it doesn't help as it hasn't clarified why only The Warehouse has been shutout.  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A young American soldier who ran across the North Korea border is in US custody and heading home.  Travis King made a sudden dash from South to North Korea whilst on a civilian tour of the demilitarised zone two months ago.  Before he ran to North Korea, the 23-year-old had served in a South Korean prison for assault and was due to be sent home to Texas to face consequences.  US Correspondent Mitch McCann told Tim Dower that he's now been flown to China to be held in US custody.  He says King will face the consequences of the US military this time.  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The chances of Chris Hipkins retaining his role as Prime Minister appears to be fading by the day.  The latest One News-Verian result puts National on 36% while Labour sits at 26%.   Earlier this week, the Herald's Poll of Polls showed Labour has a 0.2% chance of staying in government, the worst result for any main governing party since the Great Depression.   Former National Party advisor and political commentator Brigitte Morton told Tim Dower that the chances Hipkins will continue as Prime Minister are getting down to zero.  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.